I'm rebuilding my Hickey Sidewinder

[SilverMiner]

Hello, folks -

So, I'm in the middle of rebuilding the Hickey Sidewinder winch that had been installed on my '78 Jimmy since at least 1978. I bought the rig in 1989 and was the second owner. Sadly, in 1998 or so circumstances conspired against me (Ice, the Bilderburgers, and the Illuminatie) and I fatally shock-loaded the winch while sliding down an icy logging road.

Pro-tip for those of you who own or intend to use a Hickey Sidewinder - don't shock-load the cable. The bull-gear simply won't stand for it, and the first picture shown below is the result; many, many stripped teeth. Probably not bad advice for any winch, I suppose.

Some years later I acquired a "parts Hickey" from a local seller via Craigslist for the sole purpose of acquiring a new bull gear. Now, many years later I've finally tackled the project of changing out that bull gear.

But of course once I've got it opened up I figure I should make as many improvements as possible. At the very least I thought I should replace the cable, but it seems to be keyed into the drum in an fashion I'm not familiar with. See the final photo.

Has anyone replaced the cable on a Hickey Sidewinder? How the heck did you do it? I have the drum removed, and I still can't figure it out. I can't imagine how I might accomplish it if the winch were still installed.